Blood Money Page 13

  “Couldn’t be better,” Jessica said.

  “Oh, I’m sure you could,” Willis said. “But I wouldn’t fit in the trunk, so you’re stuck with Kelton.”

  Jessica laughed.

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Kelton said. “Let’s get this show on the road.”

  Laughing himself, Willis closed the trunk, enshrouding them in darkness.

  The ride seemed to last closer to two hours than the promised twenty or thirty minutes.

  Kelton and Jessica had started the trip trying to hold a conversation, but had quickly realized the futility of such an endeavor and fell quiet.

  As the ride progressed, every little bump became more and more magnified and the air grew hotter and more stuffy and the smell of exhaust became more potent and Kelton’s legs began to cramp and his head ached more and more. By the end of their journey, Kelton swore to himself that he’d never ride in a trunk again.

  But the trip was not without benefits.

  He’d found a certain kind of peace while lying in the trunk, snuggling with Jessica. It had been years since he’d held a woman in his arms for any extended period of time, and despite all the physical discomfort, he felt a fleeting sadness when the car came to a stop and the engine fell quiet.

  “Are you all right?” he whispered into Jessica’s ear as the closing of the driver’s door reverberated throughout the car.

  “I’m fine,” Jessica said. “Good, even.”

  Kelton was smiling when the trunk opened.

  “We’re here,” Willis said.

  They climbed out of the trunk, Kelton glancing about at their surroundings while he did so. They were inside what appeared to be yet another underground garage. This one was empty, save for three cars parked nearby that were virtually identical to the one they had left the hospital in. Each one of these cars was occupied by two people: one in the driver’s seat and another in the passenger’s.

  “You two have fun?” Willis said as Kelton and Jessica stretched out.

  “Tons,” Kelton said.

  “You didn’t leave a mess in my trunk, did you?”

  “Nah, he kept it in his pants,” Jessica said.

  “Yeah, but it dried up pretty quickly,” Kelton added. “So where are we?”

  “Under an office building in downtown Los Angeles,” Willis said.

  “And who’s in the other cars?”

  “Friends of mine. They watched our back during the drive over from the warehouse, making sure we weren’t being followed.”

  “So we’re clear?”

  Willis nodded.

  “Now what?” Kelton said.

  “You guys take this car and go wherever you want,” Willis said. “I’ll follow you to make sure you’re still alone when you arrive at your destination.”

  “Do you really think that’s necessary?”

  “Necessary? No. Advisable? Yes.”

  “I wouldn’t want to impose--”

  “Don’t be ridiculous,” Willis said. “You asked me to help you disappear. I mean to see the job through to the end.”

  Kelton shrugged. “If you insist. But we’ve got a couple hours of driving ahead of us tonight. We’re heading north, out towards the desert.”

  “Do you have a destination in mind?”

  “Yep,” Kelton said.

  “Where?”

  “Death Valley.”

  DAY FOUR

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  By design, the drive to Death Valley took nearly twice as long as it normally would have.

  In an effort to maximize Willis’s chances of picking out any possible observers, they avoided the direct route through the desert—straight up Interstate 15—instead opting for a more circuitous path, using a variety of older, far less traveled, two-lane highways. They saw very few cars on the road during their journey north, and although it was impossible to be certain until he heard from Willis, Kelton was confident they had made it through the desert alone.

  At Kelton’s insistence, Jessica had slept the majority of the ride up, which had given him time to think. His thoughts mostly revolved around his future, and more specifically, whether or not he wanted to try and figure out if there was a way to spend it with Jessica after this situation was finally resolved.

  By the time they pulled into Death Valley, he had come to a decision. The only question that remained was whether or not he’d have the guts to follow through with it.

  Furnace Creek sits in the heart of Death Valley National Park like a remnant from the Old West. It was all alone in the middle of the desert as though a mirage, consisting of 31 full-time inhabitants, one road through the center of town, a single family-run grocery store, two restaurants, a gas station, and the Furnace Creek Inn and Ranch Resort.

  It was just after 6AM when they pulled into the dirt parking lot of the resort. There were no other cars present.

  Kelton parked the car, shut off the engine, reached over and shook Jessica’s shoulder. She awoke with a yawn and took one look out the window at the breaking dawn. “So this is Death Valley, huh?”

  Kelton nodded.

  “Any particular reason why we came here of all places?”

  “I figure the easiest way to find out if we’re alone is to go somewhere that’s deserted.”

  Jessica took another glance at their surroundings and snorted through her nose. “Well, it certainly looks like you’ve picked a good place then.”

  They climbed out of the car and started walking across the dirt parking lot towards the front lobby.

  “Holy crap,” Jessica said. “It feels like a blast furnace out here. How hot do you think it is?”

  “It’s got to be close to ninety degrees.”

  “Already? But it’s still early morning.”

  “Not for long,” Kelton said. “Out here, they consider eight o’clock the afternoon.”

  Jessica sighed and shook her head. “No wonder this place is so empty.”

  They entered the modest lobby and rang the service bell. A wizened, older man with skin the texture of well-worn leather arrived a few seconds later.

  “How are ya’ll doing on this fine day?”

  “Not bad,” Kelton said. “And you?”

  “Hanging in by the skin of my dentures,” the old man said. “What can I do you for?”

  “We need a room,” Kelton said.

  “Do you have a reservation?”

  Kelton stifled a smile and shook his head.

  “Well, that shouldn’t be a problem, considering you’re the only ones here.”

  “Pretty slow this time of year, huh?” Jessica said.

  “Honey, even the flies are smart enough to avoid Furnace Creek in the summer. Hell, yesterday was mild. It only reached 117.”

  Jessica laughed softly.

  “How many nights?” the man asked, turning his attention back to Kelton.

  “Just one.”

  “A queen bed or two twins?”

  “A queen will be fine,” Jessica said before Kelton could answer.

  The old man pressed on without pause. “Forty bucks ought to do it.”

  “Is cash all right?” Kelton said.

  “Only if its green,” the old man said.

  “Do you mind if we pay you now?”

  “Course not.”

  Kelton reached into his pocket, pulled out two 20’s, and set them on the counter. The old man picked up the money, popped his cash register open, and stuck the bills in. He reached back, grabbed the keys for room 13 and handed them to Kelton.

  “Do you need anything else?” Kelton said. “ID? Credit Card?”

  The old man swatted the comment aside with a flick of his wrist. “We don’t worry about that sort of stuff this time of year. We’re just happy to have some business. Now you two go relax. If you need anything just give me a holler.”

  The room was small but clean, the bed surprisingly comfortable.

  Kelton was relaxing on top of the covers with his clothes on, back to the mattress an
d eyes closed, when he felt a sudden pressure on his hips. He opened his eyes to see Jessica straddling him. The corners of her lips were curled up in a playful grin and her eyes were gleaming with mischief.

  “Have long until we hear from Willis?” she asked.

  “I’m not sure,” Kelton replied, straining in vain to keep from getting aroused. “Thirty minutes, maybe an hour.”

  “Plenty of time,” Jessica said, leaning back slightly, adjusting the pressure.

  Kelton narrowed his eyes, feigning confusion. “For what?”

  Jessica’s grin grew wider. “You know.”

  He could feel his erection pushing against the crotch of his jeans and he knew Jessica could feel it too. “Do I now?”

  “Well, your body does, even if your brain doesn’t.”

  Kelton smiled, forced out a tremulous laugh. “Yeah, I guess that’s true. But unfortunately, my brain usually ends up trumping my body.”

  “Maybe that’s your problem.”

  “Maybe it is,” Kelton said. “Maybe it is indeed.” He took a deep breath and tried to relax.

  Sensing his shift in tone and the intent behind it, Jessica immediately leaned forward and brought her face down towards his. She stopped a couple inches away, and they stared at each other for a few seconds before bringing their lips together.

  They kissed, shifted their lips, kissed again, more urgently this time, and then Jessica was sliding down Kelton’s body, undoing the buttons on his shirt and kissing his chest as she made her way down. She unzipped his pants and began pulling down on the waistband, boxers and all.

  Kelton closed his eyes, his breath coming more rapidly now. His mind raced, bringing up memories long suppressed, and along with them emotions painful enough to rip him out of the moment. Grimacing, he squeezed his eyes shut more tightly in an attempt to push these relics back into the recesses of his brain, but he was failing miserably.

  Unable to stop the torrent of memories, he lifted his body up onto his elbows and shimmied backwards. The back of his head slammed the headboard of the bed, banging it against the wall with a loud crack.

  Jessica was staring at him with a mixture of confusion and anger. “What the hell was that all about?” she said. “I was under the impression that you wanted this.”

  “I do,” Kelton said, his eyes now open but looking down at the covers. “But not like this. Not right now.”

  Jessica stared at him. “You’re kidding me, right?”

  Kelton shook his head.

  Jessica sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed, giving Kelton her back. She buried her head in her hands and gripped her hair as though she was going to tear it out, then relaxed her fists and let her hands fall into her lap.

  Kelton waited patiently, figuring that anything he said now would just fuel the problem further.

  A few seconds later, her back still to him, Jessica said, “I’ve never been rejected like that before, especially so late in the proceedings. Did I do something wrong?”

  “No,” Kelton said. “It’s not you.”

  “Then what is it?”

  “I’m just not ready yet.”

  “What’s there to be ready for?” she said, turning towards him, her voice rising. “It’s a blowjob, not a goddamn marriage proposal.”

  “I know,” Kelton said. “But I told you before--”

  “Yeah, yeah, I remember,” Jessica said. “You said you’re old fashioned, or some crap like that. But lately you’ve been talking shit right back to me like you want me to make a move. Like that quip back at Disneyland about the leash, when we were on that God-forsaken ride. Before that, I was all prepared to leave this whole thing alone, let you chase whatever demons are running around inside that screwed up head of yours. But after you made that comment, I’m thinking to myself, maybe this guy does want me. And I know I sure as hell want him.”

  Kelton opened his mouth but Jessica raised her hand and shook her head. “Don’t say anything. Not right now. Just sit there with your mouth shut and listen.”

  He nodded and did as he was told.

  Jessica took a deep breath, looked up at the ceiling, started massaging her temples. When she resumed talking, her tone was lighter, more measured.

  “First you act like you want to get me in the bed, and then, out of nowhere, you’re literally pushing me out of it. And you still stubbornly refuse to tell me why, refuse to even admit there’s a reason why you’re such a schizo. But there has to be a reason. People don’t act like this unless they’re forced to. So you have to make up your mind, right here, right now. Either come clean and tell me what the hell has screwed you up so bad that you can’t function around women, or let me know that it isn’t going to happen, and we’ll just spend the rest of our time together mired in a strictly platonic relationship until you can unload me like chattel.”

  Kelton just sat there and stared at the faded blanket beneath him, unable to meet her gaze.

  He wanted to tell her everything, longed to open up to her, but as he turned his mind inward to recall the memories that had been buried for so long, he found that they were locked down tight, as though some part of his brain knew that to release them would cause him to revert back to the person he’d been immediately after the day that had changed his life forever, when every waking moment was a struggle to keep himself from eating the barrel of his gun.

  “Come on,” Jessica said, her voice soft. “Talk to me, Kelton. I want to know the real you, not this projection of what you want yourself to be.”

  He shook his head. “I can’t.”

  “Why not?”

  “It’s been buried for too long,” Kelton said. “I don’t know what will happen if I let it out.”

  “It’s far more destructive if you keep it in,” Jessica said. “Trust me on this one.”

  Kelton opened his mouth intending to argue with her, to tell her that no, it didn’t hurt more to keep it in, because when you kept it in, you could control it, you could mute it, you could pretend like it never happened, but instead, what came out was, “I was married once.”

  “Really?” Jessica said.

  He took a deep breath and nodded. Now that the cat was out of the bag, the words came easily, like they’d been forming beneath his conscious mind for years.

  “Her name was Melissa Crouch. We met a couple weeks into our freshmen year of college, at some random party, and we immediately hit if off. We dated all four years of college, and I ended up proposing to her at our graduation. We got married six months later, moved out to Colorado, immediately started working on having kids. Two months after that, she was pregnant. A boy. Scott. A year and a half after that, we had another kid. A girl this time. Kelly. We were a nice, happy little family, living in a 1800 square-foot house we’d bought after Kelly was born. Everything was going great, our kids were wonderful, all was right with the world. And then Scott was diagnosed with brain cancer.”

  Jessica waited silently while Kelton took a moment to quell a sudden wave of excruciating pain.

  Eventually, he said, “It was inoperable, pretty much impossible to treat in any significant way. The doctors said he had eighteen months to live. He only made it to three.”

  “It spread that quickly?”

  “Oh, it wasn’t the cancer that took his life,” Kelton said, his voice flat, emotionless. “It was his mother. Along with her own. And our daughter’s.”

  A sharp intake of breath from Jessica but thankfully she didn’t try to console him. She seemed to know how little use words were in this type of situation.

  The images came unbidden, individual snapshots flashing through Kelton’s mind like a slideshow: The note on the door with the words I’M SORRY printed sloppily in red marker. The three bodies, two of them impossibly tiny, lying on the bed, their skin pale and shiny, more wax figures than human beings. On his knees, head in his hands, moaning wordlessly. The house crowded with policeman, paramedics, investigators. Neighbors coming to the door, offering hollow condolenc
es. And then the unbearable silence as he was left alone with his newly minted ghosts.

  “For the longest time, I blamed myself,” Kelton said. His tone was hushed, as though by speaking softly he could keep from re-awakening the demons. “I couldn’t stop thinking about how I should have seen the signs, how I should have known something like this was coming, how I should have been able to keep my wife from murdering herself and our two children. For months I couldn’t sleep, couldn’t even function. I just sat around the house, watching whatever channel happened to be on the television, and drank until I passed out. Then I’d wake up the next day and start the process over again. Until finally I ended up sitting on the toilet with the barrel of a shotgun in my mouth and my big toe wrapped around the trigger.”

  Kelton shuddered slightly with the memory of that night. He remembered being able to see his body from high up in the room, as though looking through the lens of a camera capturing the event. It was not until then, from that third-person view of himself, that he realized just how pathetic he had become, and how much he hated himself for allowing his grief to take him to the edge of the abyss.

  He looked up to see Jessica staring at him, her eyes glistening with moisture, and he felt bad for having dragged her through his graveyard.

  “Don’t worry,” Kelton said, forcing his mouth to form a loose smile. “I didn’t kill myself.”

  Jessica barked out a humorless laugh, which seemed to quell her tears. “Are you sure about that?”

  “I don’t think I could have actually gone through with it,” Kelton said, his smile fading away. “Looking back, I think I just needed to play things out to their inevitable conclusion before I could allow myself to get on with my life. It’s like I needed to stare death in the face before I could honestly say whether or not I wanted to live.”

  “I guess you got your answer,” Jessica said.

  “I sure did.”

  “How did you turn things around?”

  “Believe it or not, once I made the decision to get on with my life, it wasn’t all that hard,” Kelton said. “I’d used up all of my grief and self-pity during my six-month descent, so all I had to do was lock all the memories away in a little corner of my brain and pretend like my life up until that point had never happened. I moved away, changed my name, broke off contact with everyone I’d ever known, and started a new life. I literally became another person.”